The increased number and complexity of operations performed in a wireless communication device requires a corresponding increase in processor performance and memory to implement the operations. One particular complex set of operations involves the generation of displays for a wireless device screen. An example is displaying World Wide Web pages associated with the use of an Internet browser in a wireless device. Wireless device Internet browsers generally accept Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and HyperText Markup Language (HTML) messages containing text-based Web pages, graphic information such as page layout and fonts, and hypertext links from an Internet site. Converting WAP and HTML messages to a format suitable for display on a wireless device user interface requires large amounts of processor performance and memory.
It is known to use the processor and memory in a wireless device to generate displays, for example, to process WAP and HTML messages. It is also known to use a processor with increased performance and to increase the amount of memory in a wireless device to facilitate the generation of displays and the processing of WAP and HTML messages. However, there are disadvantages associated with using a wireless device processor and memory and increasing wireless device processing performance and memory. Using the wireless device processor increases the complexity of the software required in the device and can reduce the time available for processing other software tasks. In addition, wireless device batteries have limited capacities for storing and supplying power, and processor operations consume battery power. Using wireless device memory reduces the amount of memory available in the wireless device for other purposes. Additionally, larger memories drive up costs.
Advances in technology and manufacturing techniques permit wireless communication devices to be made increasingly smaller, creating in turn, a need to generally reduce the number and size of components in the devices. Unfortunately, increasing processor performance and memory in a wireless device can increase the number and size of processor and memory components in a wireless device. The subsequent increase in space usage can limit the size to which a wireless device can be reduced, or can limit the space available in a wireless device for other components. Increasing processor performance and memory in a wireless device usually increases the cost of processor and memory components for the wireless device, adding to the cost of producing the wireless device. In addition, since general reliability decreases as parts count and complexity in a wireless device increase, increasing processor performance and memory as noted above, may tend to decrease the reliability of the wireless device.
It would be advantageous if functionality in wireless communication devices requiring large amounts of processor performance and memory, such as displays on a wireless communication device screen, could be implemented in a wireless device with minimal use of the wireless device processor and memory.